New smart bike, BCycle Dash, and mobile app form future of bike share

At a global gathering of bike share operators in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday, BCycle announced the bike share industry’s first fully integrated ecosystem that further enhances the bicycle’s role in public transit and that represents the future of bike share.

BCycle President Bob Burns introduced a suite of products and software that surround the bike share user and ecosystem during the company’s annual BCycle World conference: BCycle Dash, a new smart bike; BCycle Dash +, an electric assist bike share bike; and a new mobile app that unifies bike share, making it easier than ever to incorporate bike share systems into public transit. BCycle is the first bike share company to integrate bike share with public transit in the U.S.

“Bike share should be simple, intuitive and easy to use,” Burns said. “We need to remove barriers for people to be able to access a bike. That is why we introduced these new products and mobile app to help make this possible.”

BCycle Dash is an advanced smart bike that puts the rider at the center of the bike share experience. Unlike other smart bikes, BCycle Dash incorporates elements that firmly establish bike share as a critical component of a city’s transit system offerings.
Among its many features, BCycle Dash has the ability to be docked on conventional bike racks, at existing BCycle stations, at its own Dash dock, next to a station if there are no available docks or anywhere a bike can be docked. The bike also includes a head’s up color touchscreen that highlights distance and time traveled, cost spent and calories burned.

In addition, BCycle Dash features turn-by-turn directions that route riders to their destinations via a city’s designated bike paths. The directions are clear and easy to read on a moving bicycle – or can be spoken to the rider. Best of all, the bikes can be accessed in multiple ways, including phone, fob keys, metro transit cards and campus identification cards.

BCycle Dash + includes all of the same features as BCycle Dash in a fully integrated electric assist bike model. The Dash docks can be upgraded to accommodate the electric bike; the bike has a center mounted motor for balance, control and natural ride; and BCycle Dash + has an integrated lithium ion battery.

Linking both of these bikes is a world-class mobile app that allows riders to sign up and pay for rides; instantly release the bike by typing the dock number into a mobile device; find out where they are located and where they want to go.

“It’s not just about the bike – it’s about the rider,” Burns said. “It is about the ecosystem that surrounds the rider and how that ecosystem connects the rider to the bike to boost the rider experience. A rider-centric ecosystem that is linked by a world-class app creates the foundation of bike’s role in public transit. That’s why BCycle is here and that’s where we’re going.”

BCycle currently has more than 1,250 stations and 10,200 bikes on the ground in North and South America. All BCycle bikes are designed by Waterloo, Wisconsin-based Trek.

To see photos from #BCycleWorld and the BCycle Dash launch, like BCycle on Facebook and follow on Twitter.